At ITM 2026 in Istanbul, Behnam Ghasemi, Editor-in-Chief of Kohan Textile Journal, interviewed Zhen Tai about the company’s integrated nonwoven manufacturing business, its latest automation technologies, and its strategy for expanding in Türkiye and surrounding markets.
Q&A: Changsha Zhentai on Automation, Energy Efficiency and Türkiye’s Market Potential
Q: Could you introduce Changsha Zhentai and its business?
Zhen Tai: Changsha Zhentai is both a nonwoven fabric manufacturer and a nonwoven machinery manufacturer. We began producing nonwoven products in 1997 and expanded into machinery manufacturing in 2008.
This combination gives us a unique advantage because we design and develop equipment based on our own manufacturing experience. Today, we are recognized as one of China’s leading companies in both nonwoven production and nonwoven machinery.
Q: What technologies are you presenting at ITM 2026?
Zhen Tai: We manufacture a wide variety of nonwoven products for numerous industrial applications, and our latest machinery focuses on improving production efficiency while reducing operating costs.
One of our main priorities is energy saving and automation.In the past, one production line typically required three operators. Today, thanks to continuous automation improvements, three operators can efficiently manage two production lines. This significantly reduces labour requirements while increasing production efficiency.
Read more : ITM 2026 Results Confirm Global Industry Confidence
Q: Why did Changsha Zhentai choose to enter the Turkish market?
Zhen Tai: Before the pandemic, Türkiye’s economy was growing rapidly and showed strong potential. Although economic conditions slowed during the pandemic, we have seen steady recovery over the past few years.
Türkiye occupies a unique geographical position connecting Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Istanbul is one of the world’s major commercial gateways, making the Turkish market strategically important for our international expansion.This strategic location was one of the main reasons we decided to participate in ITM and strengthen our presence in Türkiye.
Q: How do you evaluate the textile industry in Türkiye and neighboring regions?
Zhen Tai: Türkiye remains one of the region’s most important textile manufacturing countries because of its stable industrial foundation and strong manufacturing capabilities.
However, rising production costs and tariff-related challenges have encouraged some textile investments to shift toward countries such as Egypt, where manufacturing costs are currently lower.Despite these changes, we believe Türkiye will continue to play a key role in the global textile industry because stability remains one of the most important factors for long-term industrial investment.
Q: How important is sustainability for Changsha Zhentai?
Zhen Tai: Sustainability is one of our key development priorities.
Our engineering team continuously improves machine automation to reduce energy consumption, lower carbon emissions, and minimize labour requirements.
By enabling fewer operators to manage larger production capacities, our machinery helps manufacturers improve productivity while reducing operational costs and environmental impact.We believe that energy efficiency, intelligent automation, and continuous technological innovation are essential for building a more sustainable nonwoven industry.
